Method for controlling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed and a device therefor

ABSTRACT

A method includes: synchronously calculating offsets of a first mechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical arm corresponding to a change of posture of the surgical bed when the change of posture of the surgical bed is detected in real time; calculating target joint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based on the offsets; adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculated target joint readings. The method acquires the joint readings of the mechanical arm of the surgical robot with information about a change of posture of the surgical bed so as to achieve the purpose of synchronizing the mechanical arm with the change of posture of the surgical bed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of Chinese patentapplication CN202011150378.1 filed on Oct. 23, 2020, which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the technical field of medicaldevices, in particular to a method for controlling a mechanical arm of asurgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed and a devicetherefor.

BACKGROUND

The Da Vinci Surgical System is an advanced robotic platform the designconcept of which is implementing complex minimally invasive surgicaloperations through the use of a robotic method. The Da Vinci SurgicalSystem is composed of the following three portions: a surgeon console, abedside mechanical arm system and an imaging system.

The current method for controlling a mechanical arm of a surgical robotneeds to disassemble the mechanical arm of the robot and a trocarthereof when adjusting the body posture of a patient, and after theadjusting, the mechanical arm and the trocar are reassembled andreconnected so as to continue operating, which leads to a complicatedand time-consuming operation, and an offset for the visual field of adoctor, and meanwhile, the anesthesia time for a patient increases whichis likely to bring danger to the patient. With the self-customized bedby Da Vinci, other surgical beds are not compatible and other roboticsurgical systems need to disconnect the trocar.

SUMMARY

Regarding above issues, the present application provides a method forcontrolling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movementof a surgical bed and a device therefor, which solve the technicalproblems of necessarily disassembling and assembling the mechanical armof the robot when adjusting the body posture in the related art whichresults in a complicated and time-consuming operation and is likely tobring danger to a patient. Meanwhile, the method and device of thepresent application achieve both the compatibility with other beds andnon-disconnection of the trocar, and the trocar need not to be removedout of the abdominal cavity during the whole process, which saves timeand improves the efficiency of operating, and reduces the possibility ofbringing danger to the patient.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method forcontrolling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movementof a surgical bed, the method comprises the following steps:

detecting in real time if a change of posture of the surgical bedoccurs;

synchronously calculating offsets of a first mechanical arm, a secondmechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical arm corresponding to thechange of posture of the surgical bed when the change of posture of thesurgical bed is detected, the offsets include target three-dimensioncoordinates of a trocar remote center of motion (RCM) and a tool tip(TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscopy mechanical arm;

calculating target joint readings of each of the first mechanical arm,the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based on theoffsets; and

adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculated targetjoint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm.

Alternatively, the step of detecting in real time if a change of postureof the surgical bed occurs comprises:

detecting in real time if a change of posture of the surgical bed occursby means of an optical sensor; and

tracking and recording in real time a change of position and posture ofan optical sensor by means of an optical tracking camera.

Alternatively, the step of synchronously calculating offsets of a firstmechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical armcorresponding to the change of posture of the surgical bed when thechange of posture of the surgical bed is detected comprises:

acquiring three-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture ofthe surgical bed;

calculating target three-dimension coordinates of the trocar remotecenter of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm;

calculating current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip (TIP) ofeach of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm with the postures of the mechanical arms keptunchanged, based on current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; and

calculating the three-dimension coordinate offsets of the change ofposture of the surgical bed and target three-dimension coordinates ofthe tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip(TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscopy mechanical arm.

Alternatively, the method further comprises:

detecting in real time if the tool tip (TIP) of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm after the adjusting enters into an early warning region adjacent toan operating region; and

adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and/or the endoscopy mechanical arm until it is confirmed that notool tip (TIP) enters into the early warning region adjacent to theoperating region, if at least one tool tip (TIP) entering into the earlywarning region adjacent to the operating region is detected.

Alternatively, the method further comprises:

detecting in real time if there is a lateral traction force applied tothe trocar remote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm afterthe adjusting; and

adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and/or the endoscopy mechanical arm until no lateral traction forceis detected, if a lateral traction force is detected.

In a second aspect, a device for controlling a mechanical arm of asurgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed, comprising:

a first detecting unit for detecting in real time if a change of postureof the surgical bed occurs;

a first calculating unit for synchronously calculating offsets of afirst mechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopymechanical arm corresponding to the change of posture of the surgicalbed when the change of posture of the surgical bed is detected, theoffsets include target three-dimension coordinates of a trocar remotecenter of motion (RCM) and a tool tip (TIP) of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm;

a second calculating unit for calculating target joint readings of eachof the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopymechanical arm based on the offsets; and

an adjusting unit for adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm,the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thecalculated target joint readings of each of the first mechanical arm,the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm.

Alternatively, the first detecting unit is used for detecting in realtime if a change of posture of the surgical bed occurs by means of anoptical sensor; and tracking and recording in real time a change ofposition and posture of an optical sensor by means of an opticaltracking camera.

Alternatively, the first calculating unit comprises:

an acquiring subunit for acquiring three-dimension coordinate offsets ofthe change of posture of the surgical bed;

a calculating subunit for:

calculating target three-dimension coordinates of the trocar remotecenter of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm;

calculating current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip (TIP) ofeach of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm with the postures of the mechanical arms keptunchanged, based on current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; and

calculating the three-dimension coordinate offsets of the change ofposture of the surgical bed and target three-dimension coordinates ofthe tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip(TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscopy mechanical arm.

Alternatively, the device further comprises:

a second detecting unit for detecting in real time if the tool tip (TIP)of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm after the adjusting enters into an earlywarning region adjacent to an operating region; and

wherein the adjusting unit is further used for adjusting in real timethe first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and/or the endoscopymechanical arm until it is confirmed that no tool tip (TIP) enters intothe early warning region adjacent to the operating region, if at leastone tool tip (TIP) entering into the early warning region adjacent tothe operating region is detected.

Alternatively, the device further comprises:

a third detecting unit for detecting in real time if there is a lateraltraction force applied to the trocar remote center of motion (RCM) ofeach of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm after the adjusting; and

wherein the adjusting unit is further used for adjusting in real timethe first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and/or the endoscopymechanical arm until no lateral traction force is detected, if a lateraltraction force is detected.

The present application provides a method for controlling a mechanicalarm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed and adevice therefor, by which synchronously calculating offsets of a firstmechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical armcorresponding to a change of posture of the surgical bed when the changeof posture of the surgical bed is detected in real time, the offsetsinclude target three-dimension coordinates of a trocar remote center ofmotion (RCM) and a tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm,the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; calculatingtarget joint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based on the offsets;adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculated targetjoint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm. The present applicationacquires the joint readings of the mechanical arm of the surgical robotwith information about a change of posture of the surgical bed so as toachieve the purpose of synchronizing the mechanical arm with the changeof posture of the surgical bed, and meanwhile, achieving that therelative position of the tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and/or the endoscopy mechanical arm keepsconstant, and disassembling and assembling the mechanical arm of thesurgical robot are not needed when a change of posture of the surgicalbed occurs, even removing the trocar out of the abdominal cavity is notrequired, which saves time and improves the efficiency of operating, andreduces the possibility of bringing danger to the patient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Drawings which are necessarily used in the embodiments of the presentinvention and the prior art are simply explained below so as to moreclearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments and theprior art. It is obvious that the drawings descripted below are only theembodiments of the present invention and other drawings may also beacquired by those ordinary skilled in the art based on the drawingsprovided herein without involving creative labor.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for controlling amechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgicalbed, according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an application scenario of a surgicalrobot and a surgical bed, according to an embodiment of the presentapplication;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of positions of a trocar remote center ofmotion and a tool tip on a mechanical arm, according to an embodiment ofthe present application;

FIG. 4 is a marked graph of joints of a mechanical arm of a Lens DriverRobot, according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a marked graph of joints of a first mechanical arm of a BornsMedical Robot, according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a position of an early warning regionadjacent to an operating region, according to an embodiment of thepresent application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structure of a device for controlling a mechanicalarm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed,according to an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The implementations of the present application are explained in detailin combination with the drawings and embodiments, thereby theimplementation procedure of how the present application solves thetechnical problems by applying technical means and achieve correspondingtechnical effects can be fully understood and implemented. Theembodiments and various features thereof of the present application cancombine with each other in the condition that there is no conflictiontherebetween, and the formed technical solutions are also within theprotection scope of the present application.

As known from the Background, the current method of controlling amechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgicalbed needs to disassemble the mechanical arm of the robot when adjustingthe body posture, and after the adjusting, the mechanical arm isreassembled to continue operating, which leads to a complicated andtime-consuming operation, and meanwhile, the anesthesia time for apatent increases which is likely to bring danger to the patient.

In view of above, the present application provides a method forcontrolling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movementof a surgical bed and a device therefor, which solve the technicalproblems of necessarily disassembling and assembling the mechanical armof the robot when adjusting the body posture in the related art, whichresults in complicated and time-consuming operations and is likely tobring danger to a patient.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of a method for controlling amechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgicalbed, according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown inFIG. 1 , the method comprises the following steps:

S101: detecting in real time if a change of posture of a surgical bedoccurs.

S102: synchronously calculating offsets of a first mechanical arm, asecond mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical arm corresponding tothe change of posture of the surgical bed when the change of posture ofthe surgical bed is detected.

In the step S102, the offsets include target three-dimension coordinatesof a trocar remote center of motion (RCM) and a tool tip (TIP) of eachof the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopymechanical arm.

S103: calculating target joint readings of each of the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based onthe offsets.

S104: adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculatedtarget joint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm.

Specifically, during an operation seen from a doctor's view field, animage of the doctor's view field always align with the operating scopeof the operation during the whole process of the following movement ofthe surgical bed, and the related organs provide a broader operatingspace for the doctor due to a change of the inclination of the surgicalbed occurs.

It needs to illustrate that the surgical bed can change its posture withsix degrees of freedom, in which comprising translation in X, Y, Zdirections, and pitching, yawing and rolling. Thereby, accomplishing therequirements for robot-assistant operations in Gynecology, Urology,General Surgery, Vascular Surgery and Thoracic Surgery, etc. cooperatingwith the surgical robot.

It needs to further illustrate that the surgical bed may be an electricsurgical bed or a manual surgical bed, it can be applied in thetechnical solutions of the present application as long as it satisfiesthe requirements for a change of posture.

Alternatively, the step of detecting in real time if a change of postureof the surgical bed occurs comprises:

detecting in real time if a change of posture of the surgical bed occursby means of an optical sensor; and

tracking and recording in real time a change of position and posture ofan optical sensor by means of an optical tracking camera.

It needs to illustrate that an optical sensor is a type of sensor, whichcarries out a measurement according to the principle of optics, and italso has a plurality of advantages, such as, noncontact and noninvasivemeasurement, almost undisturbed, transferring at a high speed andremote-measurable and remote-controllable, etc.

In addition, an optical sensor in the embodiment is disposed in lowerside of the surgical bed and however, the present application includesbut is not limited to the setting of the position where the opticalsensor is disposed, other settings are also within the protection scopeof the present application as long as they satisfy the followingposition conditions: the mechanical arm does not shield the opticalsensor and can collect a change of posture of the surgical bedaccurately.

It needs to further illustrate that an optical tracking camera in theembodiment of the present application is disposed under the surgical bedor beside the surgical bed for tracking and recording in real time achange of position and posture of the optical sensor without impactingby lighting and shielding as well as the movement of the doctor duringthe surgical operating, and meanwhile, enabling totally noncontact withthe human body.

Tracking and recording in real time a change of position and posture ofan optical sensor by means of an optical tracking camera, andtransmitting the recorded data to a calculating unit, such as acomputer, for subsequently synchronously calculating offsets of a firstmechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical armcorresponding to the change of posture of the surgical bed when thechange of posture of the surgical bed is detected.

Alternatively, the step of synchronously calculating offsets of a firstmechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical armcorresponding to the change of posture of the surgical bed when thechange of posture of the surgical bed is detected comprises:

acquiring three-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture ofthe surgical bed;

calculating target three-dimension coordinates of the trocar remotecenter of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm;

calculating current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip (TIP) ofeach of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm with the postures of the mechanical arms keptunchanged, based on current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; and

calculating the three-dimension coordinate offsets of the change ofposture of the surgical bed and target three-dimension coordinates ofthe tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip(TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscopy mechanical arm.

It needs to illustrate that, as shown in FIG. 2 , which is a schematicview of an application scenario of a surgical robot and a surgical beddisclosed in the present application. As can be seen from FIG. 2 , thesurgical robot includes two portions: a Lens Driver Robot (LDR) and aBorns Medical Robot (BMR), the original point of the targetthree-dimension coordinates is the center of the surgical bed, in whichthe center of the surgical bed refers to the central position of adevice for lifting the surgical bed to change its angle, and thiscentral position is also the center of the surgical bed. And in the samethree-dimension coordinate system, the relative position between theLens Driver Robot (LDR) and the Borns Medical Robot (BMR) is determined,and meanwhile, the relative position of the tool tip (TIP) of each ofthe mechanical arms of the endoscopy keeps constant during thesynchronous movement of the mechanical arms of the two Robots with thatof the surgical bed.

Specifically, the formats of coordinates of the first mechanical arm,the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm are shown inTable 1 as follows:

TABLE 1 Arm No. 1 Arm No. 2 Endoscopy arm RCM1 (X, Y, Z) RCM2 (X, Y, Z)RCM3 (X, Y, Z) TIP1 (X, Y, Z) TIP2 (X, Y, Z) TIP3 (X, Y, Z)

Wherein the positions of a trocar remote center of motion (RCM) and atool tip (TIP) on a mechanical arm are shown in FIG. 3 , in which theRCM is a telecentric fixed point which indicates that enabling the RCMpoint fixed, i.e., no movement or offset occurs, by a method ofcontrolling (to control a mechanical arm) when the mechanical arm moves.

It needs to illustrate that all of the above detecting, calculating andcontrolling of the mechanical arms are carried out in real time,ensuring that the movement of the three mechanical arms following thatof the surgical bed is connection movement, which can be directly seenas a kind of synchronous movement due to a tiny time difference.

In another embodiment of the present invention, specifically, a Da VinciSurgical System acts as a surgical robot, which can perfectly connect toa matching electric surgical bed in a wired, wireless or infrared way,enabling linkage among devices; when adjusting the body posture of thesurgical bed by changing its angle, the mechanical arm of the robot inlinkage also synchronously adjusts its angle without disassembling themechanical arm so as to avoid hurting other tissues and visceral organs.

It needs to illustrate that the step of calculating target jointreadings of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical armand the endoscopy mechanical arm based on the offsets can bespecifically carried out by calculating new joint readings of each ofthe first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopymechanical arm by means of Inverse Kinematics (IK). And as shown in FIG.4 and FIG. 5 , FIG. 4 is a marked graph of joints of a mechanical arm ofa Lens Driver Robot, according to an embodiment of the presentapplication, and J1-J6 shown in FIG. 4 are respective joints of themechanical arm of the Lens Driver Robot; FIG. 5 is a marked graph ofjoints of a first mechanical arm of a Borns Medical Robot, according toan embodiment of the present application, and J1-J6 shown in FIG. 5 arerespective joints of the first mechanical arm of the Borns MedicalRobot; it needs to illustrate that a second mechanical arm in FIG. 5 isnot marked due to its joints are the same as that of the firstmechanical arm in FIG. 5 .

Alternatively, the method further comprises:

detecting in real time if the tool tip (TIP) of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm after the adjusting enters into an early warning region adjacent toan operating region; and

adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and/or the endoscopy mechanical arm until it is confirmed that notool tip (TIP) enters into the early warning region adjacent to theoperating region, if at least one tool tip (TIP) entering into the earlywarning region adjacent to the operating region is detected.

As shown in FIG. 6 , it is a schematic view of a position of an earlywarning region adjacent to an operating region, according an embodimentof the present application.

It needs to illustrate that the position of the tool tip (TIP) isrequired to be detected in real time to ensure that the tool tip (TIP)is in a safety region which cannot hurt the internal body tissues so asto avoid the tool tip (TIP) of a mechanical arm from contacting internalbody tissues, such as viscera organs, during its movement, which resultsin injury of the internal body tissues. In FIG. 3 , a region having amaximum range is the safety region, a region in the inner most circle isthe operating region, a region in the middle is the region adjacent tothe operating region and a region between the safety region and theoperating region is the early warning region.

Alternatively, the method further comprises:

detecting in real time if there is a lateral traction force applied tothe trocar remote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm afterthe adjusting; and

adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and/or the endoscopy mechanical arm until no lateral traction forceapplied to the trocar remote center of motion (RCM) is detected, if alateral traction force is detected.

It needs to illustrate that the lateral traction force at the RCM pointis required to be detected to ensure that there is no lateral tractionforce so as to avoid the trocar remote center of motion (RCM) fromgenerating the lateral traction force during the mechanical arm'smovement, which results in injury of body tissues. Specifically, ifthere is a lateral traction force applied to the trocar remote center ofmotion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and the endoscopy mechanical arm can be determined by pushing areleasing button on the mechanical arm. By pushing the releasing buttonon the mechanical arm, the mechanical arm enters into a gravitycompensation mode, where the mechanical arm can compensate for thegravity by controlling the torque of a joint to detect if there is alateral traction force applied to the trocar remote center of motion(RCM).

In conclusion, the embodiments of the present application provide amethod for controlling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot followingthe movement of a surgical bed, the method comprises the followingsteps: synchronously calculating offsets of a first mechanical arm, asecond mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical arm corresponding tothe change of posture of the surgical bed when the change of posture ofthe surgical bed is detected in real time, the offsets include targetthree-dimension coordinates of a trocar remote center of motion (RCM)and a tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; calculating targetjoint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based on the offsets;adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculated targetjoint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm. The present applicationacquires the joint readings of the mechanical arm of the surgical robotwith information about a change of posture of the surgical bed so as toachieve the purpose of synchronizing the mechanical arm with the changeof posture of the surgical bed, and disassembling and assembling themechanical arm of the surgical robot are not needed when a change ofposture of the surgical bed occurs, even removing the trocar out of theabdominal cavity is not required, which saves time and improves theefficiency of operating, and reduces the possibility of bringing dangerto the patient.

Embodiment 2

Based on the method for controlling a mechanical arm of a surgical robotfollowing the movement of a surgical bed disclosed in above embodimentsof the present invention, FIG. 7 specifically discloses a device forcontrolling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movementof a surgical bed, which uses the method for controlling a mechanicalarm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed.

As shown in FIG. 7 , an embodiment of the present invention discloses adevice for controlling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot followingthe movement of a surgical bed, the device comprises:

a first detecting unit 701 for detecting in real time if a change ofposture of the surgical bed occurs;

a first calculating unit 702 for synchronously calculating offsets of afirst mechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopymechanical arm corresponding to the change of posture of the surgicalbed when the change of posture of the surgical bed is detected, theoffsets include target three-dimension coordinates of a trocar remotecenter of motion (RCM) and a tool tip (TIP) of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm;

a second calculating unit 703 for calculating target joint readings ofeach of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm based on the offsets; and

an adjusting unit 704 for adjusting in real time the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, basedon the calculated target joint readings of each of the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm.

Alternatively, the first detecting unit 701 is used for detecting inreal time if a change of posture of the surgical bed occurs by means ofan optical sensor; and tracking and recording in real time a change ofposition and posture of an optical sensor by means of an opticaltracking camera.

Alternatively, the first calculating unit 702 comprises:

an acquiring subunit for acquiring three-dimension coordinate offsets ofthe change of posture of the surgical bed;

a calculating subunit for:

calculating target three-dimension coordinates of the trocar remotecenter of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm;

calculating current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip (TIP) ofeach of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm with the postures of the mechanical arms keptunchanged, based on current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; and

calculating the three-dimension coordinate offsets of the change ofposture of the surgical bed and target three-dimension coordinates ofthe tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip(TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscopy mechanical arm.

Alternatively, the device further comprises:

a second detecting unit for detecting in real time if the tool tip (TIP)of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm after the adjusting enters into an earlywarning region adjacent to an operating region; and

wherein the adjusting unit 704 is further used for adjusting in realtime the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and/or theendoscopy mechanical arm until it is confirmed that no tool tip (TIP)enters into the early warning region adjacent to the operating region,if at least one tool tip (TIP) entering into the early warning regionadjacent to the operating region is detected.

Alternatively, the device further comprises:

a third detecting unit for detecting in real time if there is a lateraltraction force applied to the trocar remote center of motion (RCM) ofeach of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm after the adjusting; and

wherein the adjusting unit 704 is further used for adjusting in realtime the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and/or theendoscopy mechanical arm until no lateral traction force is detected, ifa lateral traction force is detected.

Regarding the specific operation processes of the first detecting unit701, the first calculating unit 702, the second calculating unit 703 andthe adjusting unit 704 in the device for controlling a mechanical arm ofa surgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed disclosed inabove embodiments of the present invention, please refer to thecorresponding contents in the description of the method for controllinga mechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movement of asurgical bed disclosed in the above embodiments of the presentinvention, which are not described herein.

In conclusion, the embodiments of the present application provide adevice for controlling a mechanical arm of a surgical robot followingthe movement of a surgical bed, comprising: synchronously calculatingoffsets of a first mechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and anendoscopy mechanical arm corresponding to the change of posture of thesurgical bed when the change of posture of the surgical bed is detectedin real time, the offsets include target three-dimension coordinates ofa trocar remote center of motion (RCM) and a tool tip (TIP) of each ofthe first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopymechanical arm; calculating target joint readings of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm based on the offsets; adjusting in real time the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, basedon the calculated target joint readings of each of the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm. Thepresent application acquires the joint readings of the mechanical arm ofthe surgical robot with information about a change of posture of thesurgical bed so as to achieve the purpose of synchronizing themechanical arm with the change of posture of the surgical bed, anddisassembling and assembling the mechanical arm of the surgical robotare not needed when a change of posture of the surgical bed occurs, andmeanwhile, it achieves both the compatibility with other beds andnon-disconnection of the trocar, even removing the trocar out of theabdominal cavity is not required, which saves time and improves theefficiency of operating, and reduces the possibility of bringing dangerto the patient.

In summary, the present application provides a method for controlling amechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgicalbed and a device therefor, the method comprises the following steps:synchronously calculating offsets of a first mechanical arm, a secondmechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical arm corresponding to thechange of posture of the surgical bed when the change of posture of thesurgical bed is detected in real time, the offsets include targetthree-dimension coordinates of a trocar remote center of motion (RCM)and a tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; calculating targetjoint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based on the offsets;adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculated targetjoint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm. The present applicationacquires the joint readings of the mechanical arm of the surgical robotwith information about a change of posture of the surgical bed so as toachieve the purpose of synchronizing the mechanical arm with the changeof posture of the surgical bed, and disassembling and assembling themechanical arm of the surgical robot are not needed when a change ofposture of the surgical bed occurs, even removing the trocar out of theabdominal cavity is not required, which saves time and improves theefficiency of operating, and reduces the possibility of bringing dangerto the patient.

It should be realized from the several embodiments provided in thepresent application that the disclosed method can also be implemented inother approaches. Above described embodiments for the method are onlyexemplary.

It should also be noted that the terms “comprising”, “including” or anyother variation thereof herein are intended to cover non-exclusiveinclusion, so that a process, a method, an article or a device includinga series of elements not only includes those elements but also includesother elements which are not explicitly listed, or further includes theinherent elements of the process, the method, the article or the device.Without further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence“comprising a . . . ” does not exclude the existence of other identicalelements in the process, the method, the article or the device includingthe element.

Although the embodiments disclosed in the present application asdescribed above, the above contents are only the implementations adoptedfor the convenience of understanding the present application and notintended to limit the present application. Any person skilled in thetechnical field to which the present application belongs can make anymodifications and changes in the form or details of implementationswithout departing from the spirit and scope disclosed in the presentapplication. However, the scope of patent protection of the presentapplication shall still be subject to the scope defined in the appendedClaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling a mechanical arm of asurgical robot following the movement of a surgical bed, the methodcomprising the following steps: storing three-dimension coordinatesdefining an operating region proximal to a patient positioned on thesurgical bed and an early warning region adjacent to the operatingregion; detecting in real time if a change of posture of the surgicalbed occurs; calculating region offsets of the early warning region andthe operating region corresponding to the change of posture of thesurgical bed when the change of posture of the surgical bed is detected,and updating the early warning region and the operating region based onthe region offsets; synchronously calculating offsets of a firstmechanical arm, a second mechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical armcorresponding to the change of posture of the surgical bed when thechange of posture of the surgical bed is detected, the offsets includetarget three-dimension coordinates of a trocar remote center of motion(RCM) and a tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; calculatingtarget joint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based on the offsets;adjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculated targetjoint readings of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; detecting in real timeif the tool tip (TIP) of any of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm after the adjustingenters into the early warning region based on the three-dimensioncoordinates of the early warning region and current three-dimensioncoordinates of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscope mechanical arm; and if at least one tool tip (TIP)entering into the early warning region adjacent to the operating regionis detected, adjusting in real time the mechanical arm of the at leastone tool tip (TIP) until it is confirmed that no tool tip (TIP) entersinto the early warning region adjacent to the operating region.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the step of detecting in real timeif a change of posture of the surgical bed occurs comprises: detectingin real time if a change of posture of the surgical bed occurs by meansof an optical sensor; and tracking and recording in real time a changeof position and posture of an optical sensor by means of an opticaltracking camera.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step ofsynchronously calculating offsets of a first mechanical arm, a secondmechanical arm and an endoscopy mechanical arm corresponding to thechange of posture of the surgical bed when the change of posture of thesurgical bed is detected comprises: acquiring three-dimension coordinateoffsets of the change of posture of the surgical bed; calculating targetthree-dimension coordinates of the trocar remote center of motion (RCM)of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm, based on the three-dimension coordinateoffsets of the change of posture of the surgical bed and currentthree-dimension coordinates of the trocar remote center of motion (RCM)of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm; calculating current three-dimensioncoordinates of the tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm,the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm with thepostures of the mechanical arms kept unchanged, based on currentthree-dimension coordinates of the trocar remote center of motion (RCM)of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm; and calculating the three-dimension coordinateoffsets of the change of posture of the surgical bed and targetthree-dimension coordinates of the tool tip (TIP) of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm, based on the three-dimension coordinate offsets of the change ofposture of the surgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates ofthe tool tip (TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm.
 4. The method accordingto claim 1, further comprising: detecting in real time if there is alateral traction force applied to the trocar remote center of motion(RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscopy mechanical arm after the adjusting; and adjusting in realtime the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and/or theendoscopy mechanical arm until no lateral traction force is detected, ifa lateral traction force is detected.
 5. A device for controlling amechanical arm of a surgical robot following the movement of a surgicalbed, the device comprising: one or more processors configured fordetecting in real time if a change of posture of the surgical bedoccurs; one or more processors further configured for synchronouslycalculating offsets of a first mechanical arm, a second mechanical armand an endoscopy mechanical arm corresponding to the change of postureof the surgical bed when the change of posture of the surgical bed isdetected, the offsets include target three-dimension coordinates of atrocar remote center of motion (RCM) and a tool tip (TIP) of each of thefirst mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopymechanical arm; one or more processors further configured forcalculating target joint readings of each of the first mechanical arm,the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm based on theoffsets; one or more processors further configured for adjusting in realtime the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm, based on the calculated target joint readingsof each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm; one or more processors further configured fordetecting in real time if there is a lateral traction force applied tothe trocar remote center of motion (RCM) of any of the first mechanicalarm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm afterthe adjusting; and one or more processors further configured for, if alateral traction force is detected for at least one trocar remote centerof motion (RCM), adjusting in real time the mechanical arm of the atleast one trocar remote center of motion (RCM) until no lateral tractionforce is detected; and one or more processors further configured fordetecting in real time if the tool tip (TIP) of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm after the adjusting enters into an early warning region adjacent toan operating region; and one or more processors further configured foradjusting in real time the first mechanical arm, the second mechanicalarm and/or the endoscopy mechanical arm until it is confirmed that notool tip (TIP) enters into the early warning region adjacent to theoperating region, if at least one tool tip (TIP) entering into the earlywarning region adjacent to the operating region is detected.
 6. Thedevice according to claim 5, wherein the one or more processors arefurther configured to: detect in real time if a change of posture of thesurgical bed occurs by means of an optical sensor; and track and recordin real time a change of position and posture of an optical sensor bymeans of an optical tracking camera.
 7. The device according to claim 5,wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: acquirethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed; calculate target three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm, based on thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and current three-dimension coordinates of the trocarremote center of motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, thesecond mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; calculatecurrent three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip (TIP) of each of thefirst mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopymechanical arm with the postures of the mechanical arms kept unchanged,based on current three-dimension coordinates of the trocar remote centerof motion (RCM) of each of the first mechanical arm, the secondmechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanical arm; and calculate thethree-dimension coordinate offsets of the change of posture of thesurgical bed and target three-dimension coordinates of the tool tip(TIP) of each of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm andthe endoscopy mechanical arm, based on the three-dimension coordinateoffsets of the change of posture of the surgical bed and currentthree-dimension coordinates of the tool tip (TIP) of each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and the endoscopy mechanicalarm.
 8. The device according to claim 5, wherein each of the firstmechanical arm, the second mechanical arm, and the endoscopy mechanicalarm comprise a joint motor operable by the one or more processors toadjust that mechanical arm, wherein the one or more processors arefurther configured to: detect in real time if there is a lateraltraction force applied to the trocar remote center of motion (RCM) ofany of the first mechanical arm, the second mechanical arm and theendoscopy mechanical arm after the adjusting based upon the torque ofthe respective joint motors; and if a lateral traction force is detectedfor at least one trocar remote center of motion (RCM), operating themechanical arm of the at least one trocar remote center of motion (RCM)in a gravity compensation mode until no lateral traction force isdetected.
 9. A device for controlling a mechanical arm of a surgicalrobot following the movement of a surgical bed, the device comprising:(a) an optical sensor component configured to be coupled to a positionon the underside of the surgical bed; (b) an optical tracking cameraconfigured to track a change of position and posture of the opticalsensor component; and (c) one or more processors in communication withthe optical tracking camera; wherein the one or more processors areconfigured to: (i) receive a set of image data from the optical trackingcamera; (ii) determine the change of position and posture of the opticalsensor component based on the set of image data; (iii) detect in realtime a change of posture of the surgical bed based on the change ofposition and posture of the optical sensor component; (iv) when thechange in posture of the surgical bed is detected, synchronouslycalculate offsets of a mechanical arm corresponding to the change ofposture of the surgical bed, wherein the offsets include targetthree-dimension coordinates of a trocar remote center of motion (RCM)and a tool tip (TIP) of the mechanical arm; (v) calculate target jointreadings of the mechanical arm based on the offsets; (vi) operate one ormore joint motors of the mechanical arm to adjust the mechanical arm inreal time based on the calculated target joint readings.
 10. The deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein the optical tracking camera is staticallydisposed below the underside of the surgical bed such that the opticalsensor component is within a field of view of the optical trackingcamera.
 11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the position towhich the optical sensor component is coupled and the static dispositionof the optical tracking camera below the surgical bed are configuredsuch that the optical sensor component remains within the field of viewof the optical tracking camera throughout a complete range of motion ofthe surgical bed.
 12. The device according to claim 10, wherein theposition to which the optical sensor component is coupled and the staticdisposition of the optical tracking camera below the surgical bed areconfigured such that the optical tracking camera's field of view of theoptical sensor component is not obstructed by any medical equipment orpersonnel.
 13. The device according to claim 9, wherein the mechanicalarm comprises at least six joints that are independently movable by theone or more joint motors, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to calculate target joint readings of the at least six jointsbased on the offsets and using an inverse kinematics function.